Friday, March 9, 2018

Irish Soda Breads (Yep, TWO recipes): Different and Fruity

So you've decided to venture into the world of baking your own Irish soda bread.

Before you start buying, mixing, and cooking, make sure you read this explanation of Irish soda bread. I've always thought of Irish soda bread with raisins and other dried fruits, but that's not traditional. The traditional part of Irish soda bread (traditional going back to the 1840's) is that baking soda was used for leavening (rising) instead of yeast. And milk was soured or one would use buttermilk. Traditional Irish soda bread has four ingredients that include flour, baking soda, salt, and buttermilk. It's baked as a round with a cross cut across the top. That's basically it. Now there are dozens of variations; they just really aren't "traditional"! So.. click away through the dozens of Irish soda bread recipes you will find, but make sure you know what you want to do.